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Forecast for the Salt Lake Area Mountains

Drew Hardesty
Issued by Drew Hardesty on
Thursday morning, January 30, 2025
The avalanche danger is LOW.
There are, of course, a few things to have on your radar today. Please don't sleepwalk through a green danger rose.
Pockets of wind slab may be found in the higher elevations and wet and dry sluffs are expected in the steepest terrain. Last, it's unlikely - but not impossible - to trigger an avalanche failing on weak faceted snow in steep, thin, rocky terrain.
Remember that RISK IS INHERENT IN MOUNTAIN TRAVEL.
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Special Announcements
Check out this insightful blog by Paige and Jeremy where they break down the complexities of Persistent Weak Layer (PWL) avalanches, why thin and rocky areas are especially dangerous, and how to manage the risks effectively in the backcountry.
Join the UAC at Deer Valley TONIGHT January 30th for the 2nd Annual Blizzard Ball Gala. Bruce Tremper, the former Director of the Utah Avalanche Center, will deliver the keynote address.
Join us at the Pinebrook Beacon Park TODAY Thursday January 30th from 4:30pm - 6:30pm to brush up on your beacon and probing skills! This is a FREE public event for anyone who wants to practice some rescue skills and get you questions answered by avalanche professionals. Parking is easiest in front of Inspired Summit Adventures.
Weather and Snow
Skies are clear.
Mountain temperatures are in the mid to upper 20s up high, the single digits and low teens down low.
Winds - those nuisance northeast winds - remain breezy - 15-20mph along many ridgelines and 20-30mph along the 11,000' level.
For today, we'll see continued sunny skies, temps warming into the mid to upper 30s, and fading winds from the north>northwest.
The Outlook: Our partners at the National Weather Service have issued a Winter Storm Watch for the mountains north of I-80 for Friday afternoon through late Monday.
I'm seeing a fairly potent event with a lot of wind, water, and fluctuating rain/snow lines. I think the Logan/Ogden mountains will see the most, but a broad-brush for the Wasatch offers 2-4 inches of snow-water-equivalent and perhaps 1-3 feet of snow for most areas. The rain/snow lines may reach 8000' at times. Strong winds are a given.
Rapidly increasing avalanche danger is also a given.
Recent Avalanches
There were no reports of avalanches from yesterday other than some minor wet and dry loose point releases.
Find all avalanches from the past few days on the observations and avalanche page.
Observations and Avalanches
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Avalanche Problem #1
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(Mark White photo from the upper Cottonwoods yesterday)
The snow is mostly stable and the avalanche danger is generally LOW. That said, there should be a few things on your radar in the mountains today.
  • Pockets of soft and hard wind slab can still be found in the high alpine. They may be found around the compass.
  • Loose dry sluffs in the weakening snow on northerly aspects can be triggered in steep terrain.
  • Loose wet sluffs can be triggered on steep solar aspects with daytime warming.
  • It is unlikely but not impossible that one might trigger a slab avalanche failing on old weak faceted snow, particularly in steep rocky terrain that has avalanched previously this season (and reloaded).
General Announcements
This information does not apply to developed ski areas or highways where avalanche control is normally done. This forecast is from the U.S.D.A. Forest Service, which is solely responsible for its content. This forecast describes general avalanche conditions and local variations always occur.
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